Pen Falters as Royals Topple Yanks

The brooms were poised but in the end they went back in the closet.

Joba Chamberlain battled through six and Melky Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run on a double-play ground ball in the seventh, but Phil Coke allowed three runs in the eighth as the Royals nipped the Yanks 6-4 on a rainy afternoon in Kansas City.  John Buck, not normally known for his hitting, belted a home run and drove in three to help the Royals avoid the sweep.
 
I was stuffing my fat face at my Mom's so I was a bit distracted, but I'll do my best to round this baby up.

The Good:

Joba Chamberlain.  It wasn't always pretty, but Chamberlain gave the Bombers another quality start.  Brett Gardner stole second and scored on a wild pitch to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead in the first inning and Joba set down the first seven batters he faced.  But Buck blasted a solo home run in the third to knot the score at 1-1 and some shabby defense in the fourth inning led to two unearned runs.  Still, Chamberlain persevered through six and was in line for the win.  Another pitcher probably could have gone another inning (Chamberlain threw 88 pitches), but the Yanks have made it clear that they are going to limit Joba's workload this season.  Chamberlain's first start went like this: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 earned), 1 BB, 5 K, 2 hit batsmen, 1 HR.


The Bad:

Phil Coke.  The left-hander had a terrific spring, but so far his regular season has been anything but.  Coke entered the game with two outs in the eighth inning, a runner on first and the Yankees up 4-3.  Boom, boom, boom, or double, single, double, and the Royals were up 6-4 heading into the top of the ninth.  Why was Coke brought in at all in that situation?  Good question.  Damaso Marte recorded the first two outs of the inning and Jose Veras came in to face right-handed pinch-hitter Billy Butler.  Veras walked Butler on five pitches, but Joe Girardi came out with the quick hook and went to Coke.  Coke isn't really a lefty specialist, but the next batter (Brayan Pena) was a switch-hitter, and the next three batters were all right-handed.  It was a curious decision and it didn't work out.  Coke took the loss with this: .1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  The season is young, but Coke's numbers thus far are unsightly: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, .417 average against, 13.50 ERA.  Bleeech!  

Nick Swisher.  The red-hot Swisher has been terrific with the bat, but not so much with the glove.  Swisher misplayed a ball in right field during Friday's game that led to a run, but it didn't hurt the Yanks in the end.  No such luck on Sunday.  Chamberlain was one out away from working out of a two on, nobody out jam in the fourth and induced what should have been the inning-ending ground out by Alberto Callaspo.  But Swisher, playing at first base for the second straight game, ranged to his right and misplayed the grounder, allowing David DeJesus to score and the Royals took a 2-1 advantage.  The play was originally ruled a hit and an RBI, but was later reversed (and rightfully so) to an error.  The field was a mess and Swisher isn't a good fielder to begin with, but he probably would have been better served if he allowed Robinson Cano to field that ground ball.  Try to remember that for next time, Nicky Boy.

The Ugly:

Missing in action, again.  Mark Teixeira missed his second consecutive game with tendinitis in his left wrist.  "He's still sore, so I didn't see any reason to play him today," Girardi said.  "He's just day-to-day. Tendinitis sometimes takes some time to get out, so he's got to work out that soreness. The diagnosis was good, but you never know how long it takes to get it out."  Teixeira thinks he injured his wrist Wednesday in Baltimore and said it only affects him when he bats right-handed.  No X-rays were taken and Teixeira will probably miss at least one more game.  Let's hope this thing doesn't linger. 

The Yanks will head down to Tampa Bay and begin a three-game set against the defending
American League champion Rays.  Chien-Ming Wang (0-1, 17.18 ERA) will oppose Scott Kazmir (1-0, 1.50 ERA) in the opener Monday night.  Wang was smacked around in his first start against the Baltimore Orioles, giving up seven runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings.  The Wanger is 7-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 13 career starts against Rays and is 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA in eight career starts at Tropicana Field.  Kazmir picked up his first win of the season against the Boston Red Sox, giving up just one run on five hits over six innings.  The young lefty finished 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA in three starts against the Yanks last season and is 4-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 12 career appearances against the Bombers.  But Jorge Posada seems to enjoy hitting off Kazmir.  Posada is 9 for 19 (.474) with a homer, three doubles and five runs batted in lifetime against Kazmir.

It'll be an early test against last season's best in the AL.